A decade ago Wikipedia burst into a world not ready to comprehend it. Thousands of people cooperating effectively, without price signals to offer "incentives" or managerial hierarchy to direct efforts was an impossibility.

And yet, it moves. And as it moved it combined with a deep shift across many disciplines, from biology and neuroscience to organizational sociology, experimental economics, and social psychology to paint a very different view of who we are, as human beings, and what we are capable of when we build and inhabit systems that rely on our better selves rather than on the cramped, pessimistic view of traditional economic modeling. A decade ago our explanations of Wikipedia depended on the uniqueness of the Net.

Today, we are ready to learn the deeper lessons: that we are more cooperative than we came to believe in the last half century, and that our challenges lie in learning how to build a new field of cooperative human systems design not only online, but for our lives more generally as the kind of social human beings we really are.

I'm writing a piece on this talk now for ScentTrail Marketing as Benkler's talk beautifully ties design, nonzero altruism as discussed by Wright (NonZero) and Shermer (Mind of the Market) and the intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations so well discussed in the book DRIVE by Daniel Pink.

To say this talk is important for today's Internet marketers to grasp would be a vast understatement. The fluidity of Benkler's thoughts and the profound shift toward cooperation has never been more completely outlined.

One of the best examples of Benkler's new cooperation is Scoop.it. Inside this ecosystem norms have been established, largely without the Scoop.it's team's need to do so, and cooperation rules, cooperation I am thankful for daily.

Using Scoopit For Personal Branding and Online Reputation Management (ORM)

I've been a Scoopiteer since Marc and Guilluame were kind enough to let me drive their very cool new car. Like many Internet marketers I have more and more content generating less and less control.

The more content I add the more difficult it gets to keep up with. I've been wondering how to collect and watch my personal brand. Google Authorship has the promise of a collective personal "commons", but actually using authorship to help with such a practical application today feels remote.

Think of the numbers. I create or curate over 50 posts a day and typically write at least 1,000 words. Translation: almost 400,000 words and 20,000 posts to keep up with each year. And I am by no means a PRO at this. Imagine what Michele Smorgon or Robin Good are managing (many multiples of Martin W. Smith).

Scoop.it As Personal Branding ORM Solution Scoopit can help. I changed all the sources to this feed (will rename it soon) to RSS feeds from the digital properties I contribute to regularly. I cleaned out ALL OTHER SOURCES.

1. Change "Sources" To Feeds From Your Content.

I also changed the keywords to my name or social media synonyms such as @ScentTrail and @StoryofCancer. These changes set up Scoopit so it watches my back, helps this feed curate from across time and many digital properties and catches reactions and content evolution.

2. Change Keyords To Ones Relevant to You (your name, social names, etc.).

Patients Are "Social" Customers TooMagic inconsistently applied is frustrating. Cancer centers need to learn how much their business (curing cancer) now collides with our business (we, mobile, social marketing). Era of the social patient is here and engagement is part of their treatment.

As first noted by MAKE: Magazine’s Boris Kourtoukov, “there’s a plethora of options” when it comes to these microcontrollers. What’s more, they all possess one common trait: they’re powered by Atmel. These so-called body boards are now giving Makers the ability to easily (and affordably) produce their own projects in ways that otherwise would have been unimaginable. - Great set of prototype boards for the wearable domain.

The top 10 best state tax rates for small businesses and the 10 worst state tax rates for small businesses.

Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

North Carolina OuchWow North Carolina is on the WORST list here, but this list and post shows there is more to starting up a company than taxes. Try finding VC support or a good CTO in Alaska or Montana.

I'm sure VC and great CTOs exist in all of these states, but I'd rather pay higher taxes and have what is needed to create a company (I've created 4 companies in NC).

NC has COLLEGES and a growing investment community. We aren't Austin or Boston yet but we have large numbers of people starting companies and supporting those who do.

Our taxes may be higher than some of the "best" states, but you get what you pay for. Being an innovator and entrepreneur is easier where you don't have to burn resources to establish the startup road. This is why the rich get richer such as Boston, Ausin and Silicone Valley.

Having started 4 companies here I've found the colleges to be a huge help in creating an ecosystem where startups are understood and for producing some big winners such as SAS (started at UNC) and Sharefile now owned by Citrix started just after Duke.

Having Duke, UNC and NC State within a stone's throw of one another creates the kind of ecosystem that you want to LIVE in and start a company. Alaska is too cold, Utah too Mormon and Nevada too hot for me I don't care what their taxes are.

I pent weeks traveling through Utah and Nevada during Martin's Ride to Cure Cancer our 2010 ride across America to cure cancer and can't imagine living in Utah or Nevada.

Utah is beautiful but desolate. I've never felt so alone on a "highway", a good feeling on an early morning bicycle ride a lousy feeling if you are starting a company. Nevada was so depressed I'm not surprised their taxes are so low. Nevada is a one trick pony and their alliance to gaming makes the sate untenable for living for many.

I realize these are someone baseless prejudices since I only rode a bicycle through these states, but this list proves there is more to starting companies than taxes.

Overlooked is definitely the right word here, especially when it comes to tip #2. Each social network serves a different purpose, so it's important to keep that in mind with marketing campaigns.

Also, #3 (have fun) is a great piece of advice. Social media shouldn't be a boring chore. See everything you do on social platforms as a continuation of your offline work. Share stories that inspire you, for example.

In January I received a call from my friend and mentor, he asked me to join him in starting a new company. Marty is in his mid-fifties and has cancer, multiple sclerosis and a work ethic that would

Marty NoteSo thankful for this inspirational note from my Curagami (http://www.Curagami.com ) Co-Founder Phil Buckley and the many stories, notes of encouragement and shares Phil's post is prompting. I head to Ohio State again soon for treatment of my leukemia and do so with a pocket full of inspiration, new friends and courage. Thank You. M

Nick, teachers and the Iron Yard and the team at Smashing Boxes is what makes the Triangle area of North Carolina such a special place to life, create and learn new ideas. People willing to take a risk and help others is what life is all about. I learned that lesson the hard way, glad Nick and The Iron Yard learned it so well.

Visual MarketingRecently I did a multi-year analysis of my 10 Scoop.it feeds in order to create a top 10 list for curation, marketing, startups and BI. One of the most fascinating results was the prevalence of infographics.

Every top 10 had several infographics. Think on that for a minute. My 10 feeds span many different topics from content curation to social media. In EVERY case infogrpahics played a major leading role.

YES, this means we are moving toward visual marketing, but such a dominant result also shows how important infographics have become. Lately its popular to push back and say infographics aren't what they used to be.

I agree that there is some piling on going on - people creating infogrpahics that aren't really infographics. We don't throw out TV as a medium because there are good and bad TV shows. Infographics as a "lean content" medium are important and this infogrpahic on how to create infographics is helpful.

I would add, remember to TELL A STORY that highlights and creates interesting juxtapositions. Surprise use, visually amaze us and teach us and infographics will be on your top 10 content list too.

First-hand experience as a digital analyst working with companies of all sizes reveal there is still a great deal of poor execution among mid to small companies when it comes to practicing social media. Strategies, tactics and community management all too often are misaligned to the realities of how best to leverage social media.

Several things to keep in mind to realize ROI.

Don’t Act Impulsively

There is a big di­fference between understanding the marketplace & knowing when to leap into the latest platform.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• Is this new network a fad or does it have potential longevity?

• Does the purpose of the network align with our brand and social identity?

• Is our current or potential audience on this network?

• What content and tools do we need to successfully manage on a daily basis?

• Will we see a return on investment / energy if we join this network?

And remember Social media and the strategy applied is no longer just a micro-segment of marketing. Think beyond the basics and take into account your company’s general business objectives, fiscal plans and sales goals, then align your strategy to that agenda. If no metrics currently exist—be proactive!

Magical ViceShame Smith's magical behind the scenes look at how we will cure cancer in our lifetime for Vice is inspirational, amazing and life affirming. Curing cancer is here and now and it involves wizard thinking, blinding new technologies and the kind of "out of the box" thinking that defines America and Americans (not to slight our creative neighbors to the north as Canadians are fully represented too).

Great show and inspirational for all but especially for cancer patients , their friends and families.

Taylor Swift was right to leave Spotify. We must update America's antiquated music licensing system.

Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

The music biz is a mess.

This level of mess is what happens when an entire industry attempts to deny the web's tide - everyone's sandcastles get swept away and the good get hurt right along with the bad. We need to find a way to create fair compensation for artist who create art we love, listen to and that helps enrich our lives. My friends at http://www.Moon-Audio.com are working on a new movement called Music Is A Movement and Aloe Blacc's plea is bound to be part of what they end up creating.

*Curing Cancer On My Father's Birthday is On Me :) *Tomorrow my father turns 82 and I turn 57. My father and I share more than a New Year's birthday.

My friend @Kelly Hungerfordinspired me to create a spontaneous social network event. For every happy birthday or new years received on social media I will give $10 to Dr. Byrd's amazing effort to cure my father and me.

This is not an ASK it's a TELL. You or your friends wish me happy birthday or best wishes for 2015 and the James Cancer Center gets $10. How do we cure cancer? One $10 donation at a time :).

Paper.li InterviewLove the questions and editing Cendrine Marrouat, Kelly and team at Paper.li created from our interview about the new ecommerce I added it to my LiinkedIn page. Paper.li as an important "get more, do less" tool for any online merchant. Thanks to team for a great experience. Marty

We invited Marty Smith, co-founder of Curagami, to choose his favourite link. Marty's story is amazing.

Marty NoteWhen Ed Rhys asked me to share my favorite link on the web the request was overwhelming at first. I share several hundred links a day across six different social nets and blogs. Then I thought about the story BEHIND my favorite link and one link stood out:

Klout helps people who want to be great at social media. Join today to start sharing original content and measuring your online impact.

Marty Notehttps://klout.com/#/ScentTrail Never really noticed this page before, but love it. Can't figure out the algorithm that controls it and that makes it kind of fun. Can't figure out how to make it work as it acts like a pass through - content goes to other nets like Twitter or Facebook - but cool page. Bound to be a way to use it. Has anyone? How?

In addition to using Lego for maths, I've taken my sons (extensive) Lego collection into History and Society & Culture to have the students (high school) demonstrate their understanding of concepts such as globalisation, communism, nationalism, capitalism. Worked really well and classes sooo happy.

Having been broken up into groups and given a concept each, They created cities or environments demonstrating the concept then talked the rest of the class through.

That last bullet is my interpretation of what interviewing at Berkshire must be like, but bet you learn about yourself fast. The implication I love is highly credentialed people taking a test in real time.

Buffett could care less about what is on paper. He wants to take you out for a test drive and see how you tick. I've been in a similar interviews. Here is 5 Tips For How To Prepare For A Buffett-like Interview:

* Challenge your habits and assumptions daily. Do something NEW or try something new every darn day. * Achieve a BHAG so you get to know yourself in that special way only BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) teach (riding a bicycle across America did this for me). * Look for situations where you lose patience and rinse and repeat until you have patience, listen better and hear the subtext that is always there but rarely heard. * VIDEO yourself presenting CONSTANTLY. Ask for feedback and the NASTIER the better (see the point about patience). * Practice LISTENING daily (repeat and summarize for agreement, learn to ask great "open ended" questions and have someone grade you on listening - make that someone your significant other and you will listen better or get divorced...I'm divorced btw :).

Another helpful reference is to remember the "Rules of Improvisation". Sounds like an oxymoron right? Actually I've used the rules of improv to help train Internet marketing too:

Rules of Improvisation

1) Don't Deny

2) Don't ask open ended Questions

3) You don't have to be funny.

4) You can look good if you make your partner look good.

5) Tell a story.

Practice those 5 skills and mix in rules of improv look forward to getting hired by Warren Buffett or whoever :). M

Killing Your Brand SoftlyIts so EASY to KILL an online brand especially in the fledgling stages. And what online brand is NOT in a "fledgling" stage? When the board can be swept clean in a moment best to create policies and procedures sure to WOW the Ambassadors any brand needs to succeed these days.

Don't trip over the $100 bills to pick up pennies. Don't KILL your online brand with bad partner decisions or poorly trained customer service. This G+ post explains why we LOVE and believe we can make a winning P&L argument for any online store to be shipping FedEx.

Don't as the "what does it cost us" brand killing question. Ask, "What can we BUILD?"

Inspiring Startups Friday Night"Your job is to inspire everyone," Todd Mosier one of Triangle Startup Weekend''s creators explained a week ago. That got me thinking about what inspires me and I came up with a few ideas:

* RISK - Someone willing to walk the wire like Man On A Wire Philippe Petit who strolled between the World Trade Centers. Inspiration goes up with the STAKES.

* REWARD - Not the "reward" itself but the story of how reward was achieved is inspiring.

* LOSS - There is never a free lunch, so LOSS and our human bullheaded stubbornness to keep getting up is inspiring.

- Handicaps & Odds & Humor - I think of HOH as a subset of "loss" or perceived loss. My cancer made be better and stronger, but most perceive having cancer as a loss or as a negative.

In David & Goliath Malcolm Gladwell notes how many high achievers are dyslexic. When a dyslexic reads or a cancer survivor rides a bicycle across America we believe in our ability to be successful too.

Humor is important in all of these ideas but especially in handicaps and against long odds because LAUGHTER on the other side of the Rubicon, over where it is safe and the experience exists in the retelling, signals our triumph over pain.

The problem is NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition. We miserably don't know what we don't know. Do I think our Startup Factory Funded startup Curagami is in the middle of an ecommerce revolution? Yes, but we can't KNOW for sure. When an inspiring thing is happening you often are blind to its inspiration.

Tomorrow night I will share experiences from starting 4 companies, riding a bicycle across America after being diagnosed with leukemia, the creation of our latest "movements" (TechCuresCancer & Curagami) and my intention, desire and WILL to never, ever give up.

Hope you will be able to join us in downtown Durham Friday night. Should be inspiring :). M

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.